It is the distant future. The world known as Virga is a fullerene balloon three thousand kilometers in diameter, filled with air, water, and aimlessly floating chunks of rock. The humans who live in this vast environment must build their own fusion suns and "towns" that are in the shape of enormous wood and rope wheels that are spun for gravity.

Young, fit, bitter, and friendless, Hayden Griffin is a very dangerous man. He's come to the city of Rush in the nation of Slipstream with one thing in mind: to take murderous revenge for the deaths of his parents six years ago. His target is Admiral Chaison Fanning, head of the fleet of Slipstream, which conquered Hayden's nation of Aerie years ago. And the fact that Hayden's spent his adolescence living with pirates doesn't bode well for Fanning's chances.

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Quotes & Awards

“The swashbuckling space settlers of Schroeder's fantastical novel inhabit warring nation-states inside a planet-sized balloon called Virga. This adventure-filled tale of sword fights and naval battles stars young Hayden Griffin of the nation of Aerie, orphaned by an attack on the artificial sun that his parents tried to build. Schroeder layers in scientific rationales for his air-filled, gravity-poor world-with its spinning cylinder towns and miles-long icebergs-but the real fun of this coming-of-age tale includes a pirate treasure hunt and grand scale naval invasions set in the cold, far reaches of space.

Publishers Weekly

Outrageously brilliant and absolutely not to be missed.Kirkus Reviews, starred review

We already knew that Karl Schroeder could do Kubrick. Now it turns out he can do Dumas as well. And more: not since Middle Earth have I encountered such an intense and palpable evocation of an alien world. Sun of Suns puts the world-building exercises of classic Niven to shame.Peter Watts

Mix in one part thrilling action, one part screaming-cool steampunk tech, and one part worldbuilding and you've got Sun of Suns. And oh, what worldbuilding! Schroeder is a master.Cory Doctorow

Karl Schroeder's Sun of Suns not only creates an even more unusual and evocative setting than his previous work, but is replete with adventures and turns, and characters that are anything but one-dimensional.L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

I loved it. It never slowed down. The background is fascinating and the characters held my attention. It reminded me a little of The Integral Trees, with technology a little more advanced.Larry Niven on Sun of Suns

Over the years, science-fiction has provided us with awesome environments, the best ones based on careful logic. There was Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity and Robert Forward's Dragon's Egg. Karl Schroeder's new novel is in a class with these masterpieces. The longer one ponders Sun of Suns, the less paradoxical--and the more intricately sensible--it comes to be.Vernor Vinge

Sun of Suns is a rip-roaring story full of marvelous images and cutting-edge ideas. Schroeder has the rare and invaluable ability to develop wholly new concepts and turn them into compelling narratives.Stephen Baxter

Karl has managed to have his cake and eat it [too]. . . .It's a satisfying story in itself, but raises enough questions for me to want to buy the next in the series.Neal Asher

Listener Opinions

Susan | 2/13/2014

" Yes, yes. The 'worldbuilding' was nifty. I agree. But I need a bit more in the way of characterbuilding and plotbuilding and narrativebuilding to go along with all that. This served just fine for a quick & (mostly) shameless summer read, but it wasn't satisfying - and NOT in a way that means I'm itching to read the next book in the series, either. I have to say, I'm surprised at how positive some of these reviews are. "

Raja | 2/8/2014

" It's a grand world-building concept in the tradition of Ringworld and others. The hints of far-future we're given are tantalizing, but as with other hybrid retro/far-future SF I've read, I find myself wishing we'd see more far-future and less retro. It's an enjoyable ride, but despite owning the sequel I waited about a year before reading it. "

J.B. | 1/25/2014

" This is the second Schroeder book I have read, and I think he might be my favorite contemporary SF writer. This book is a little hard to describe... It is essentially a semi-steampunk, pirate story set in a solar system sized balloon full of air with no gravity other than that you make. Its not terribly deep, more of a ripping yarn, but it was very fun. It is also the the first in a series. Good times. "

Jeremy | 1/22/2014

" Meh. A formulaic plot with the usual cast of characters. However, the believable blend between real-world physics, hard sci-fi elements, and a steampunk world made for an easy, entertaining read. "

Ryan | 1/19/2014

" World-building lovliness. Quite a bit of action. Characters could have used a little more development. But a fast and entertaining read. "

" A little soap opera-y at points, but interesting steam punk world building and good adventure. "

Annie | 9/17/2013

" Fascinating science fiction with an amazing setting. The second book, "Queen of Candesce" was even better. "

Darcy | 8/31/2013

" It's punk. I hate punk. "

Sebastian | 2/5/2012

" This was a swashbuckling adventure in the classic tradition. A really fun read, furiously paced, couldn't put it down. The world-building was fabulous and the characters, although not what I would call "multi-faceted" were compelling. "

Josiah | 12/5/2011

" Imaginative setting with an interesting, but a little uneven, story. "

Diana | 10/27/2011

" fast-paced, interesting constructed world "

Rebecca | 9/4/2011

" I love these Virga stories more for the universe than anything else. Great stuff. "

Rebecca | 4/7/2011

" I love these Virga stories more for the universe than anything else. Great stuff.
"

Sebastian | 11/14/2010

" This was a swashbuckling adventure in the classic tradition. A really fun read, furiously paced, couldn't put it down. The world-building was fabulous and the characters, although not what I would call "multi-faceted" were compelling.
"

Stina | 10/10/2010

" Book #6 for 2010. I liked the story and its complex world. A lot of the characters and their interactions didn't quite ring true to me, though, and I found the ending rushed and unsatisfying. Still, I liked the book enough that I will probably read more Virga books.
"

Seth | 6/25/2010

" Schroeder's worldbuilding is wildly inventive, and his attention to scientific detail is staggering. Unfortunately, the storytelling and characterization, while both strong at times, were uneven and left me feeling a little cold.
"

Kerry | 5/5/2010

" Took me a bit to get into the book. The more I read, the more I enjoyed it. Schroeder does an excellent job of building a unique world.
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Heather | 3/9/2010

" I know from various SF blogs that there are plenty of people who loved this book. I am, sadly, not one of them. Bored silly, I gave up halfway through.
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Steve | 1/10/2010

" This one was disappointing. Flashes of inspiration were drowned out by ... well, everything from inconsistent contexts to out of character prose. Overall, I never bought into the premise. Parts were fun, but...
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Daniel | 12/30/2009

" This was perfectly enjoyable as adventure stories go, it's true brilliance comes in the world-creation, this slip stream existence seems only to scratch the surface and paves the way nicely for the rest of the series, to find out what's outside the dome of Virga
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